U.S. Officials Hold Meetings on Venezuela as Trump Deploys Military Assets to Caribbean
Senior Trump administration officials have held three meetings at the White House this week to discuss options for possible military operations in Venezuela, officials said on Friday, amid a growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump has deployed F-35 aircraft, warships and a nuclear submarine to the region as part of a military buildup following two months of deadly strikes against boats off Venezuela. Earlier this week, the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group moved into the Latin America region – bringing with it more than 75 military aircraft and over 5,000 troops.
Trump suggested on Friday that a decision could come soon on whether or not to take military action against Venezuela.
“I can’t tell you what it would be but I sort of made up my mind” on Venezuela, he told reporters on Air Force One.
Four U.S. officials and a source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the homeland security council meetings took place this week, with three of the officials confirming that one of those was on Friday.
One of the officials said a small group met on Wednesday, followed on Thursday by a much larger meeting that included Vice President JD Vance, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, among others.
The source familiar with the matter said Trump attended the Thursday meeting in the Situation Room and was briefed on a number of options.
So far, the Pentagon has carried out at least 20 strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing 80 people.
Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have questioned the legality of the strikes and some European allies have criticized the operations.
